IRVINE, Calif. – Sept. 24, 2006 – Foreclosure activity in and around the nation’s capital increased 45 percent in August, but the area’s foreclosure rate stayed well below the national average and lowest among the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan areas, according to the August 2006 RealtyTrac™ U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

The 20-county Washington metro area recorded a total of 461 properties entering some stage of foreclosure and a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 3,256 households.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with nearly 650,000 properties from more than 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal and Knight Ridder Online.

“The extremely low unemployment rate in the Washington metro area appears to be an effective antidote to foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “However, this month’s rise in foreclosure activity is not surprising given that the area’s home price appreciation slowed significantly in the first and second quarters. That slowing appreciation, combined with rising interest rates, makes it harder for homeowners and investors to avoid default or foreclosure.”

Washington’s foreclosure rate was lower than the foreclosure rates in Dallas, Atlanta, Riverside, Calif., Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York. It ranked 154th when compared with all 252 metropolitan areas in the nation.

Prince George’s County, Md., recorded 176 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, an increase of more than 58 percent from the previous month and the most new foreclosures reported by any county in the metro area. The county’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,718 households was one of the metro’s five highest, but it was still below the national average.

With one new foreclosure filing for every 1,387 households, Prince William County, Va., documented the metro area’s highest foreclosure rate. The county recorded 71 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month.

Other counties with the metro’s five highest foreclosure rates included Spotsylvania County, Va., with one new foreclosure filing for every 1,449 households; Loudon County, Va., with one new foreclosure filing for every 1,594 households; and Stafford County, Va., with one new foreclosure filing for every 1,653 households.

Virginia foreclosure activity decreased 13 percent from the previous month, with 425 properties entering some stage of foreclosure — still up more than 37 percent from August 2005. The state documented a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 6,791 households.

Maryland reported 385 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 17 percent increase from the previous month but a decrease of more than 43 percent from August 2005. The state documented a foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 5,565 households.

U.S. foreclosure activity increased 24 percent in August, with 115,292 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month — the second highest number reported in any month year to date and one new foreclosure filing for every 1,003 households.

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes in some stage of foreclosure nationwide, statewide and by county in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area Division. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures – Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Foreclosures – Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and re-purchased by a bank).

Washington Foreclosure Market Statistics by County – Aug 2006

Geography

NOD

NTS

NFS

LIS

REO

Total

1/every # households

/National Average

U.S.

20,611

45,704

7,328

21,533

20,116

115,292

1,003

—

Maryland

7

350

0

0

28

385

5,565

0.180

Virginia

2

350

0

0

73

425

6,791

0.148

Washington MSAD

3

372

0

0

86

461

3,256

0.308

District Of Columbia

1

0

0

0

8

9

30,538

0.033

Calvert County, MD

0

11

0

0

1

12

2,131

0.471

Charles County, MD

0

13

0

0

1

14

3,136

0.320

Prince George’s County, MD

2

153

0

0

21

176

1,718

0.584

Alexandria City, VA

0

7

0

0

1

8

8,031

0.125

Arlington County, VA

0

9

0

0

1

10

9,043

0.111

Fairfax County, VA

0

51

0

0

20

71

5,062

0.198

Fairfax City, VA

0

1

0

0

0

1

8,204

0.122

Fauquier County, VA

0

3

0

0

0

3

7,015

0.143

Frederick County, VA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.000

Fredericksburg City, VA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.000

King George County, VA

0

1

0

0

0

1

6,820

0.147

Loudoun County, VA

0

29

0

0

10

39

1,594

0.629

Manassas City, VA

0

3

0

0

1

4

3,029

0.331

Manassas Park City, VA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.000

Prince William County, VA

0

54

0

0

17

71

1,387

0.723

Spotsylvania County, VA

0

23

0

0

0

23

1,449

0.692

Stafford County, VA

0

14

0

0

5

19

1,653

0.607

Warren County, VA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.000

Jefferson County, WV

0

0

0

0

0

0

0.000

About RealtyTrac Inc.Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix and No. 53 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, RealtyTrac Inc. (http://www.realtytrac.com/), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value.

Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new construction properties, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate and The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal. For more information, visit http://www.realtytrac.com/.

About RealtyTrac

RealtyTrac® is the leading provider of comprehensive housing data and analytics for the real estate and financial services industries, Federal, state and local governments, academic institutions, and the media. Data is aggregated from parcel-level records of more than 125 million U.S. residential and commercial properties and delivered through customizable products including bulk file licensing, APIs and custom reports.